Circle of Life

11/18/2025

Japan’s new “night hospitals” are changing how healing works — by treating sleep as a form of medicine itself. Instead of waking patients multiple times each night for routine checks, these hospitals use silent robotic carts, red-spectrum lighting, and wearable sensors that track vitals without disturbing rest. Nurses only enter a room when the system detects an actual change, allowing patients to sleep deeply through the night.

Doctors now confirm what many suspected: uninterrupted sleep boosts immune function, speeds recovery, lowers stress, and reduces complications. Patients report waking up clearer, calmer, and far stronger than in traditional hospitals.
Japan is proving a powerful truth — sometimes the body heals fastest when doctors do less, and sleep does more.

11/16/2025

Rethinking Mental Health Science
Groundbreaking brain-imaging research has revealed that depression may not be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, challenging decades of conventional thinking in psychiatry and mental health treatment. By analyzing neural activity patterns, researchers found that depression is linked to complex brain network disruptions rather than simply low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin or dopamine.
The study utilized advanced imaging technologies to map brain function in individuals experiencing depressive episodes. Findings indicate that changes in connectivity, neural signaling, and brain network regulation play a central role in the onset and severity of depression. This insight shifts the focus from solely medication-based interventions to more holistic approaches that address brain circuitry, lifestyle, and psychological factors.
Experts believe these discoveries could revolutionize mental health treatment, paving the way for personalized therapies, non-invasive brain stimulation, and innovative interventions that target underlying network dysfunctions. Understanding depression as a disorder of brain connectivity rather than just chemical imbalance offers new hope for millions struggling with persistent mental health challenges.
This breakthrough underscores the importance of continued research into the brain’s complex systems and challenges outdated narratives about mental illness. It may ultimately reshape psychiatry, therapy, and public perception of depression worldwide.

11/16/2025

The virus behind glandular fever, also known as mononucleosis or kissing disease, seems to infect and reprogram immune cells in the body, priming some people to develop the autoimmune condition lupus.

Lupus, or systemic lupus erythematosus, occurs when the immune system becomes hyperactive, with sustained activity of immune cells called B-cells and T-cells leading to attacks on healthy tissues. This causes a variety of symptoms, including painful muscles and joints, rashes and extreme tiredness. What causes lupus isn’t well understood, but it probably involves an interplay of genetics, hormonal factors and environmental triggers, such as viruses and disturbances to our microbiome.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2504061-strongest-evidence-yet-that-the-epstein-barr-virus-causes-lupus/

Image: syahrir maulana/Alamy

11/16/2025

Based on a Duke University study published in Science Advances in 2019, growing a baby is energetically comparable to or more demanding than running a marathon every day for 9 months. The study found that pregnancy pushes the human body to its metabolic limits over a long duration, in a way that is similar to elite endurance events but sustained for much longer.

Energy costs during pregnancy:

Pregnancy is an extreme feat of endurance because the body works constantly to grow a new human, even at rest.

📑Total calories: Pregnancy requires an additional 50,000 dietary calories over nine months. The mother’s body provides 96% of this energy.

📑Cardiovascular demand: To support the growing baby, a woman’s blood volume can increase by 30 to 50 percent, and her heart rate increases by 10 to 15 beats per minute.

📑Metabolic demands: The body’s resting energy use can rise by up to 30%, meaning it works much harder even when stationary.

While a marathon is a discrete event, pregnancy is a continuous process of biological transformation. The comparison highlights the total metabolic output over the long term. A woman’s heart, lungs, and metabolism work overtime every day for nine months, making pregnancy one of the most intense and sustained physical challenges a human body can undergo.

SOURCE: https://www.therunningweek.com/post/growing-a-baby-takes-more-energy-than-running-marathons-for-9-months-straight

11/12/2025

At 70, Joan MacDonald decided it wasn’t too late to change her life and she proved it. She lost 68 pounds, reversed arthritis symptoms, came off all her medications, and completely transformed her health.

Now 77, she’s stronger than ever and inspiring millions online. Here are the 5 daily habits that helped her achieve lasting change 👇

11/12/2025

11/11/2025

This Veterans Day, we pause to honor those who have selflessly served our nation. Your strength, sacrifice, and commitment inspire us daily. From all of us at BDS, we extend our deepest gratitude to our veterans and their families.

11/10/2025

Compassionate ultrasound care for your pregnancy journey

11/09/2025